


Unfairly Attractive Dad

by wingedkiare



Series: Unfairly Attractive Dad [1]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Allison Argent & Stiles Stilinski Friendship, Alternate Universe - Human, Lydia Martin & Stiles Stilinski Friendship, M/M, Misunderstandings, Single Parent Derek Hale, Single Parent Stiles Stilinski
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-15
Updated: 2016-04-04
Packaged: 2018-04-14 21:20:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,831
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4580556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wingedkiare/pseuds/wingedkiare
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stiles Stilinski has a 7 year old son, and a problem.  A problem with broad shoulders, permanent stubble, and an adorable baby that has the same green eyes as his father.  A problem that he’s dubbed Unfairly Attractive Dad.    </p><p>How’s he supposed to get through life seeing THAT every day?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Not fair.

**Author's Note:**

> A million thanks to Evey, who has ever so patiently helped me with this story. And to itbelongsinamuseum who heard me talk about the first chapter and had a million ideas and has cheered me along every step of the way.
> 
> For those curious, Stiles and his friends are 32, Derek is 36. That's all the framing I'm going to give - everything else gets explained.
> 
> (I am actually finishing this one, guys. I have the fourth chapter in an early draft, the rest of this is blocked out)

_Ugh._   Stiles texted.  _This isn’t fair._

 _It can’t be that bad_ , Lydia messaged back.

Stiles looked across the courtyard in front of a school where Unfairly Attractive Dad was playing with his one year old, speak-singing “Baby Bumble Bee” in a way that shouldn’t be making him want to jump the man.  So he did the only thing that was fair, he stealthily snapped a picture to send to Lydia.  Because how on earth could she look at a picture of a guy with shoulders that broad and stubble that artfully maintained and not understand how difficult this made his life?

The bell rang before she could respond, and Stiles shoved his phone in his pants pocket to keep his eyes out for Antoni’s class.  They walked behind their teacher in a single line, and Antoni’s mop of dark curls popping up from the line was hard to miss.

Stiles was supposed to wait for the teacher to see him or call Antoni, but somehow he’d spaced out long enough that Antoni was jumping in front of him, determinedly ignoring two classmates trying to say goodbye.  “Dad!  Leah and me had the best day.  We learned all about hermit crabs.”

“Did you?  And it’s Leah and I.”  Stiles glanced around.  He knew the name well- she was Antoni’s table partner.  He suspected Antoni had a mild crush on her, considering how he kept trying to find a way to describe her that wasn’t friend or best friend.  “Am I ever going to meet this girl?”

“Sure!”  Antoni said, as he started to walk towards the Jeep.

Stiles rubbed his temples, trying his hardest not to figure out  his son’s logic.  He remembered saying something similar to his dad.  Probably time for another apology.  It felt like all he’d been doing recently was apologizing for his childhood.

His phone buzzed in his pocket, and once they were at the Jeep, Stiles took a look.

 _Wow.  He really is hot._ As Stiles was busy composing a mental reply to explain that was exactly why he should never talk to the guy, Lydia sent another message. _You should talk to him, anyways._

_Stop reading my mind._

_Stop being predictable.  Kiss Antoni for me._

_You should come over and kiss him yourself, spend a little time explaining Common Core to him._

“Antoni!”  A girl shouted as she walked past, and Stiles recognized her from the line of students each day.  He also recognized the broad shoulders of her father.  Those ridiculously broad shoulders.

“Bye,” his son shouted into his ear, and the girl just waved- Unfairly Attractive Dad’s focus on navigating the sidewalk ahead.

His phone buzzed again.  _He’s our kid.  I doubt he needs Common Core explained._

With a laugh, he shoved his phone in his pocket and shut the jeep’s door.

 

**

The next morning, Unfairly Attractive Dad was wearing sweats and looking like he’d only been awake for a few minutes at most.  He stood there at the curb, blinking at the light, hair sticking up on the side.  And the sweats.  They were more like yoga pants, soft.  And really, they weren’t helping Stiles do much more than fantasize about pinning the man against the all and mouthing everything the pants were showing off.

Antoni ran off immediately to talk to his friends about what he’d built in Minecraft.  Stiles was a little grateful that he didn’t have to listen to more discussions about the adventure map’s progress.  He already knew far too much about it, even without having seen this particular world.

Unfortunately it meant that Stiles had nobody to distract him from the domestic porn going on at the curb.

Well, not until a mom walked into a signpost because she was too busy staring at UAD.  After fighting off a burst of laughter, he went to make sure she was okay.  It was only fair, after all it was clear the guy had no idea what he was doing to the parents of Beacon Hills Elementary.

**

 

“Sweats, Lydia.  They were so thin.”  Stiles groaned as he dumped the onions into the skillet.

“Was he wearing underwear?”  She glanced towards the living room where Antoni was busy reading from his picture book.

“I don’t think so.”  He exhaled.  “This mom walked right into one of the signs, and I could understand how she missed it entirely.  I had a hard time not staring.”

“I still think you should talk to him, and see if he’s single.”

Stiles choked at the thought of that.  All he could imagine was when he’d first tried to tell Lydia how he felt about her.  He’d marched up to her at lunch in seventh grade, and asked if she’d go to the dance with him.  And she’d blinked, and loudly asked who the hell he was.  He could still hear the laughter from that.  “I don’t think so.”

“His loss.”

“Right, because you’re the expert on what missing out on all this is about.”

“I am.”  Lydia laughed, kissing his cheek.  “Just because you and I would never have worked doesn’t mean I can’t see how good you’d be for someone else.  The not knowing is what’s going to kill you.”

“Or maybe what’s gonna kill me is embarrassing myself in front of a dad I’ll probably be seeing for the next four years.”  Stiles cringed, already seeing a slew of awkward school programs where he’d have to hide behind something.  “Besides, I don’t even know if I’m ready to date again.”

“It’s been two years since Danny.”

“And I’ve got work and Antoni.”  Stiles shrugged, trying not to remember how quickly things had gone south with Danny once he’d found out that Stiles was the sole parent of a 5 year old.  “Then my dad, Scott, and making sure you eat.”

“Excuses, excuses.”  She glanced back at the living room.  “What do we say about excuses, T?”  Her voice doubled in volume, and Stiles braced himself for the response.

Antoni looked up from his book.  “That excuses are tools of the weak.”

“See?”  Lydia smiled smugly.

“Stop brainwashing my kid.”

“Oh, so he’s your kid tonight?”  Lydia laughed again, sitting down on the counter.  “I seem to recall that you’re the one who asked if you could have one of my eggs.”

“And I seem to recall you said you’d give it to me so long as I understood you didn’t want to be anyone’s mother.”  He stirred the onion, adding back in the chicken.  “Can’t have it both ways, Lyds.”

“Fine.”  She sighed.  “Just let me know when you think you’re ready to date again?”

Stiles nodded his head, focusing on the meat.  The whole thing was a bit like the pot calling the kettle black.  Lydia wasn’t interested in dating, too busy with her research.  Furthering your career was a valid reason, while worrying about getting your heart broken wasn’t, apparently.

 

**

 

The next morning, Stiles stood at the fence, nursing his cup of coffee as he waited to make sure Antoni got to his class.  The last year, they’d waved back and forth as he walked to his kindergarten class.  But this year, his son was too busy chatting with friends to notice that he was standing there.  As soon as Antoni passed, he turned around and almost ran right into the solid wall that was Unfairly Attractive Dad, who was childless for once.  “Sorry.”

UAD laughed, and Stiles hated how warm and soft and adorable it was.  “I was too close.  I’m just glad you didn’t spill your coffee.”  He turned his attention back towards the school yard, probably waiting for his daughter to pass by.

Stiles could feel his cheeks burning red.  Of course the guy was just relieved he wasn’t wearing Stiles’s coffee.  “See ya.”  He rushed into the car, turning on the first street he could so that he could bang his head on the steering wheel.

It was just like middle school all over again.  Fuck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like my fic? I'm whitneydrake on Wattpad, [whitneyd](http://twitter.com/whitneyd) on Twitter and [wingedkiare](http://wingedkiare.tumblr.com/) on Tumblr.
> 
> Also, comments would be amazing - this one is so dear to me, I'd love to hear your thoughts
> 
> **
> 
> This story was inspired by real life. There's a distractingly good looking dad at my kids' school, and well, it spiraled into this. (Yes, the person walking into a pole really did happen. I was right behind her. No, he isn't single. Sorry.)


	2. Day in the Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Every had the longest day of your life and things simply weren't going right?
> 
> That seemed to be Stiles's day.
> 
> Scratch that, week.
> 
> Clients from hell, meddling... when was it going to end?

After the coffee incident, Stiles started getting up a little earlier.  Not because he wanted to make a good impression, but honestly, he knew he was a danger to everyone around him if he didn’t get enough caffeine.

It really wasn’t because he was worried what Unfairly Attractive Dad thought of him.  Antoni was a stickler for being at school as early as possible, that was all.

He was getting a lot better at ignoring the little voice that told him he still worried about what Lydia thought of him, and it had been a decade since he’d been sexually attracted to her.

After a few weeks, it had become a regular routine, having his coffee at home.  He’d even started saying hello to some of the other parents from Antoni’s class.

When he wasn’t being distracted by a 6 feet tall, muscled walking fantasy.

Or the aforementioned man’s ridiculous FJ Cruiser.

As he’d repeatedly told Lydia, knowing what kind of car a guy drives isn’t creepy when it’s such a weird car that there are probably only two in town.

He couldn’t deny that it was pretty creepy that every time he saw the car, all he could do was think about playing with the driver’s gearshift.  

Jeez, even two months after the whole coffee incident, he couldn’t even admit he wanted to jump the guy in a normal way.

 

**

 

Clearly, Stiles had done something terrible in this life and maybe a past one.  It was the only way to explain the voicemail that was waiting for him after he’d dropped off Antoni on Wednesday.

“Mr. Stilinski, this is Grace Donovan.  Thank you for getting back to me so quickly. I’m just not happy with the sample you gave me of the site.  I’d asked for blue as an accent color, and that is not blue.  Call me back at-“

Stiles stopped the voicemail, deleting it.  She asked for blue without elaborating which shade, so he gave her a shade of blue that wasn’t brain bleedingly bad.  It’s not like there weren’t a ton of shades.  He could have just coded in #0000ff and called it a day.

But one thing was sure, there was no way he could call her.  Not without losing this job.  He opened his email, staring at the compose window.

_Hi Mrs. Donovan,_

_I’m sorry that you aren’t happy with the accent color.  Can you give me a shade or a better way to describe it?_

_Sorry I couldn’t call you back - losing my voice._

_Stilinski_

“Sorry I couldn’t call you, Mrs. Donovan, I’d just ask if you ever had a box of crayons with more than 8 crayons in it.”  Stiles grabbed his coffee cup, walking back over to the kitchen for a refill.  Sometimes he wondered why he went into business for himself.  He could have worked for a firm and have someone else have to deal with the stupid clients, and he’d just have to work with it.  Beacon Hills was small enough that most of his clients knew where he lived, or where he stopped for coffee.

Of course, everyone recognized the Jeep.  In some ways, it made drumming up work easy enough, because people would see his car and remember that they wanted new business cards or to update the website for their business.  But when it came to difficult clients like Mrs. Donovan, it meant he could potentially be cornered by them.  Anywhere.

He sighed, scrolling through the rest of his inbox to see if there was anything new and exciting.

Unfortunately, there wasn’t.  Just a few newsletters and a nigerian scam email that had somehow slipped past his spam filter.

 

**

 

Antoni was already outside of the security gate by the time Stiles walked up, stamping his feet impatiently.  “You’re late.”

Stiles looked over at Mrs. Dieschel, the first grade teacher, body tight as she held back a laugh.  “We had extra recess today, so the kids were packed up early.  You aren’t late, Mr. Stilinski.”

The little girl with the braids sighed, eyes on her bright purple Converse.  UAD’s daughter.  “Well, my dad’s late.”  Stiles fought back a pang of jealousy.  The one time he’d actually been late to pick up Antoni, his son had nearly been in tears.  She was sitting there calmly, even though she was clearly worried.

“He isn’t late yet, Leah,” Mrs. D said quietly.  Though it was rare for UAD not to be there waiting at the gate long before the bell rang, and Stiles knew that Mrs. D knew that, too.

Antoni set down his backpack, face determined.  “Can we stay until Leah’s dad is here?”  He asked it the same way he’d ask if they could watch Star Wars.  Or if they could have pancakes for breakfast on Sunday.  While it sounded like a question, it was definitely a demand.

Stiles glanced at his phone to check the time.  He still had an hour to get Antoni over to his dad’s house (15 minutes) and then drive to the community center to teach beginning web design (20 minute).  “Only for a little bit.  Glad I finally got to find out who Leah is, I hear so much about her.”

The bell rang, and the remaining kids covered their ears to shield them from the sharp noise.

“Daaaad,” Antoni hissed after the bell stopped ringing.  “Leah’s gonna hear,” he whispered in the way that all kids did - loudly.  “Sorry Leah, this is my dad.”

“Hi Mr. Stilinski,” she said.

“You two are partners in class?”

“Yes,” Leah said.  “Antoni’s pretty cool.  He never steals my crayons.  My first seat partner used to take my stuff all the time and leave me with broken crayons.”

“Josh,” Antoni said, with an animosity that a seven year old shouldn’t have been able to pull off.  “He’s on the other side of the table now because it’s closer to Mrs. D.”

Stiles looked at the teacher in question, who was busy talking with some of the other parents as she released the kids one by one.  It wasn’t looking like UAD was showing up.

“Leah, your dad isn’t late very often is he?”

She shrugged.  “There’s a first time for everything, Mr. Stilinski.”

He looked at his phone.  It was already 5 minutes after the bell, and he was running out of his buffer in case there was an accident on Main St.  “Kiddo, we can’t hang around much longer.”

“But Leah-“

Mrs. D walked towards them.  “Antoni, it’s fine.  If it’s too much longer, Leah can wait in the front office for her father, so she won’t be alone.”

“Okay.”  He sat next to Leah, giving her a quick hug.  “See you tomorrow.”

She hugged him back.  “Good luck on the word search tonight.  It looked hard.”

Antoni was usually a bundle of energy as he walked back to the car, but today he kept stealing looks back towards the brick wall of the planter where Leah and four other students still sat.

A Honda Civic pulled up to the curb of the school with a screech, and Stiles could hear a panicked woman shouting apologies as she rushed towards the kids waiting outside.

“She’s gonna be fine, dude,” Stiles said as he bumped his hip against his son’s arm.  “Remember what today is?”

Antoni thought for a moment, then grinned.  “Dinner at Grandpa’s!”

“But homework first.  And no cookies for a snack.  I’ll find out if you con him into it.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Daddy.”

Stiles rolled his eyes as he unlocked the jeep and flipped the seat forward so that Antoni could climb in.  “Because asking him for peanut butter cookies since it’s brain food doesn’t ring a bell?”

“Nuts are brain food.”

“Sugar isn’t, weirdo, and you know it.  C’mon, buckle up.”

As they drove past the front of the school, Antoni cheered when he discovered that Leah had been picked up.  Stiles couldn’t figure out how UAD had teleported in and out to get her.

 

**

 

Class was painful, even though most first sessions were.  There were the really enthusiastic people, the people who thought they knew everything, and the people who had no idea how to use technology and thought his class was a general computer class.  Which was beyond aggravating.

He’d spent a good 5 minutes explaining to an elderly gentleman that his class was about building websites, not about surfing the internet, and that he’d probably want to check out a different class.

Antoni had fallen asleep on the couch at his dad’s house, and didn’t even wake up when Stiles came in.

His dad sat at the table with case files spread out.  “There’s some extra chicken parm in the oven for you.  Started melting the cheese when you said you were coming over.”

“Thanks, Dad.  He give you any trouble?”

His father laughed, running his hand through his hair.  “Even at his worst, Antoni isn’t anywhere as bad as you were at that age.”

“I must have driven you guys up the wall.”  Stiles snagged the pot holder, trying not to think about all the trouble he and Scott had gotten into.  “Today he didn’t want to leave school until his friend Leah was picked up by her dad.”

“Do you think he’s Antoni’s Scott or Lydia?”  

The smell of his mother’s chicken parmesan was so good it was enough that it took a few moments for his dad’s question to register.  “Leah?  I don’t think it’s like Lydia.  But she isn’t like Scott either, otherwise he’d be begging me to let them spend every waking minute together.  Which is probably for the best.”

“When was the last time you went on a date?”

Stiles had just plated his pasta, and ended up dropping the chicken onto it with a thud.  “When did you talk to Lydia?”

“She came into the station yesterday with some ideas for this year’s fundraiser for the community fund.”  His father looked up, almost seeming to slip more into Sheriff mode - eyes serious, mouth drawn in a tight line.  “Why ask that?”

“She’s been trying to shove me back into dating.  And in the last two years, you haven’t brought up me dating at all.”

“I think that we’re all just concerned that you’re-“

“I’ve never asked when you were going to start dating.”  He set down the plate on the counter, trying not to slam cabinets shut out of spite.  That would just wake up Antoni.  “Because I respect your damn love life, Dad.  If you don’t need to date, I don’t need to date.”

“Son, we’re talking apples and oranges here.  I had the love of my life for 12 years, and I’m happy to have had her for all that.  I’m not looking to change that just to have someone in my life because I’ve got you and an amazing grandson.”

“Maybe my amazing son’s enough for me.”

“Maybe he is.  And maybe you’re just using him to keep from getting hurt again.”

Stiles pushed away the plate, no longer hungry.  “Thanks for the heart to heart, Dad.  You should probably just box this up for your lunch, tomorrow.”

“Stiles, I made it for you.”

“And you tried to corner me, knowing how hungry I get after class, so I’d stick around for food and through your interrogation.”  Stiles sighed, turning around to lean against the counter top.  “I get that you think I might be missing out on something, but I had a really long day and if there ever is a good time to bring it up, this isn’t it.”  He wondered how it was possible to feel so old and so young all at once.  Obviously, nobody thought he knew what was best for him.

“I just want you to be happy.  Besides, I know how hard it is to raise a kid on your own.”

“You did alright.”  Despite being annoyed, that wasn’t a lie at all.  His dad had done an amazing job raising a kid with ADHD on his own, and it felt like an insult to suggest Stiles couldn’t do just as good a job.

“I had the entire Sheriff’s Department to help play bad cop/good cop with you.”  His dad started to close the case files on his desk, probably stacking them in some sort of priority order.  “Mostly, I just want you to be happy.  Which I know you are as a dad.  I just remember the kid who used to talk about falling in love and getting married.”

“Well, I guess I just had to grow up, Dad.”  Stiles pushed himself off the counter, eyes fixed on the floor.  The linoleum looked like it was starting to peel up.  He’d have to add that to the list of things to replace.  “Thanks for finding a way to satisfy Ant’s chicken fixation.”

“You’re really gonna go already?”

“Long day,” Stiles said flatly.  “I haven’t checked my work email since I picked him up from school.”  

“Stiles.  I don’t want you to leave when-”

“Then don’t corner me and expect me to be happy about it,” Stiles hissed, making sure that Antoni wasn’t waking up.  He took a deep breath, watching his son’s chest continue to rise and fall.  “Love isn’t at the top of my list of things to worry about right.”

“Lydia might have mentioned there’s a guy you’ve been interested in.”

Stiles rubbed his temples, feeling like he hadn’t slept in a month.  “Just someone I’ve noticed.  Nothing’s going to happen.  I don’t know anything about him, and like I said, it isn’t a priority.  I’ve got a kid, rent, car payments, and apparently everyone else thinks that means I have time to date someone.”

“Kid.  Hold up a second.”  His dad grabbed hold of his shoulder, squeezing gently.  “Nobody means anything, we just want you to be the happiest you can be.  You deserve that it.  But I get it.  I won’t bring it up.”

“Well, if you can help stop Lydia-“

“I don’t think anyone can manage that, son.  You’re on your own with her.”

Stiles nodded.  “I’m gonna head out.  I wasn’t lying when I said I should look at my work email.”

“You grab his stuff, I’ll carry him to the car.  Son, if you need help, ask me.  You always gave me shit for not letting people back me up at work, just let me do the same for you.”  There wasn’t anything patronizing about it.  Just his dad laying it all out in a way he didn’t often, brow furrowed in a way he used to see often when he was a teenager.

“Okay, Dad.”

 

**

 

Antoni was soon fast asleep, sprawled out in his bed, in the Spider-Man pajamas he’d worn so much there were holes in the knees.  He’d barely woken up at all on the trip from the car to his room, muttering about creepers and googlies.

Stiles dropped into the chair in his office, letting his work email load.

Not surprisingly at all, there was an email from Mrs. Donovan.

_Mr. Stilinski,_

_Blue.  Like  flowers._

The only thing stopping Stiles from screaming at his computer was knowing it would wake up Antoni.

He was beginning to think the only silver lining to this particular job was that, he’d be able to submit it to Clients from Hell and it would get posted.

 

**

 

Thursday afternoon, Stiles found himself zoning out with a domestic fantasy about UAD, the safest kind while in public.  It was easy to think of them sitting next to each other, waiting to pick up their kids, fingers laced.

Thursday afternoon, there was a woman standing with Unfairly Attractive Dad.  Stiles made a mental note to probably start calling him Leah’s dad.  She was shorter than UAD, though, not by much, with dark hair and a sly smirk.  The littlest one had his head buried in her neck, in a way that was so sweet it hurt to watch.

Naturally, the universe felt that this week was time to remind him that the guy he’d been not so idly fantasizing about was utterly unavailable.  Nobody could look like that without being in a relationship and probably a waiting list for a relationship a mile long.

He hadn’t been lying to his dad about not being ready for a relationship, but he’d been something safe to watch and fantasize about.  Like winning the lottery.  Everyone dreamed about winning the jackpot, even if you were more like to be eaten by a shark.

But it still felt like a punch to the gut.

Stiles did all he could to ignore the picturesque scene.  He slouched against the wall, and threw himself into beating his high score on Temple Run 2 until Antoni practically knocked him over with a hug hello and a monologue about the day delivered at a breakneck pace.

“Dad!  Did you see that I was the line leader?”

Stiles grinned, forcing himself to ignore the broad shouldered man who was walking towards them- towards the teacher, he reminded himself.  “I did not, but that’s pretty cool.  Is it a rotation sort of deal or a reward?”

“A reward.  Because Mrs. D was super impressed that I stayed still all through reading time!  And I’m at reading level G now!”

Watching his son bounce around the sidewalk, Stiles understood exactly why his teacher was so impressed.

All he could do was keep himself focused on his son ahead of him, and not on anyone else around him.

In the safety of the car, he exhaled, letting Antoni speed through a detailed recap of the day.

Never let it be said that Stiles Stilinski would make the same mistake twice.  He wasn’t about to let himself pine after someone who was involved with someone.

Stiles pulled out his phone, doing his best to ignore Antoni’s story about what his friends were building in Minecraft.  _He has a girlfriend_ , he sent to Lydia.

“Dad, are we gonna go yet?”

His phone buzzed right away.  _I’m so sorry.  Get drunk tomorrow night?  I’ll call Scott._ “One sec, Ant.”

“One.  Can we go?”  Ant whined from his booster seat.

“A figurative second.”  He quickly typed the words.  _I’ll work it out with my dad._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like my fic? I'm whitneydrake on Wattpad, [whitneyd](http://twitter.com/whitneyd) on Twitter and [wingedkiare](http://wingedkiare.tumblr.com/) on Tumblr.
> 
> Also, comments would be amazing - this one is so dear to me, I'd love to hear your thoughts
> 
> **
> 
> I didn't mine my life for any of this chapter. A graphic designer I worked with once told me about someone who kept insisting that repeatedly using the word green described exactly what he wanted.


	3. Starting Over.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Drinks with friends, and some sage advice.
> 
> Will Stiles repeat his past or try something new?

Lydia was the devil.  No, The Devil.  They were still waiting at the bar for Scott, and she’d passed the time interrogating him over drinks.  He regretted ever thinking she was a goddess, or why he’d even accepted her egg so that he could have a kid.  Clearly, his son was going to end up an evil overlord.

She shook her head, red waves cascading over her shoulder.  “Antoni’s far too sweet to be evil.”  She raised her hand, trying to signal the bartender for a refill.  “And yes, you were muttering that out loud.  Just like high school, when you’re stressed out, you lose your filter.”

“I’m not.”

Lydia’s glare stopped him in his tracks.  “He’s the first guy you’ve talked about for more than a week, and there’s suddenly a woman?  It counts.”

“I’m used to getting let down, Lyd.  It’s everything else that’s getting to me.”

“Fine, then, let’s talk about the rest.”

“I have a client who’s driving me up the wall.  My neighbor’s dog will not stop barking at night, and while Antoni sleeps through it, I don’t get more than two hours at a time.  Oh and my dad, cornered me about dating right after my class.  Killed my damn appetite, and turns out you were responsible for making him stage a dating intervention while I was getting myself dinner.”

Lydia at least had the courtesy to look a little ashamed for that.  “I was just trying to help.”

“You want to help?  Talk to me and leave my dad out of it.  Can we stop talking about this?”

“It’s the whole reason we came out.”

“No, the reason I agreed was so that I wouldn’t think about him for awhile.”

“Please.  You need to talk about it.  It isn’t healthy to keep it in.  Besides, I only went to your dad because I want you to be happy.”  She leaned towards him to reach out towards his hand.  “So spill.”

Stiles let himself slump down face first on the bar.  “I told you.  He has a wife.  She’s tallish, slim, and pretty, and the baby loves her.”

“Are you sure she’s his wife?”

“Or girlfriend.  The baby was way too comfortable with her- I’ve seen him when the other moms try to flirt with UAD.  He gets really shy and sometimes upset.”

Lydia rolled her eyes. “I meant maybe it’s like us.”

“Because there are so many people in our situation.”

“There’d be fewer if the state made it easier for single gay men to adopt.”  Lydia’s lips pursed.  “And now you-“

“Now I’m going to drink until my liver accepts that this isn’t going to happen and I can move on.”  He held up his nearly empty glass, draining it.  It wasn’t a good plan, but it was at least a short term plan he could get behind.

“Is there any topic that’s safe to talk about?”

“I’ve got one.  You think I have issues with colors, but I have a client who can’t give me any color other than blue to describe what she wants for an accent.  It’s infuriating.”

Lydia glanced at her phone.  “That’s easy enough.  Send her to look at paint chips at a store and have her give you the one she likes.  And Scott’s just a few minutes away, and apparently he has things to say.”

“I’m still in the same trap I’ve always been. I just pick unattainable people and convince myself that what I see is real, Lyds.  I thought I loved you for years.  He’s hot, and somehow I realized he was attached and glommed on.”

“Can we get another round?”  Lydia glanced over at the bartender, eyes back on Stiles immediately.  “While I admit, you did waste a lot of time pining over a version of me that frankly I still find impossible to live up to, you did eventually talk to me.  So maybe you should learn the real lesson and talk to this guy.”

“And have to face that he’s taken and painfully straight?”  He reached for the new pint of beer that suddenly appeared in front of him.  “I don’t think so.”

Lydia groaned, picking up her glass.  “You have one week to actually make conversation with him.”

“Oh, look at that.  It’s late-“

“It’s only 9, and your father has Antoni for the night.  Don’t think I don’t know your schedule.”

Scott squeezed into the spot next to Stiles, at least Stiles hoped it was him, considering someone had their arm around his shoulder.  “What did I miss?” 

Lydia grinned, and suddenly it didn’t matter that his best friend had just shown up.  “Just our boy, being as big of a chicken as ever.”

Scott grinned back, and this felt like some warped version of high school.  Except that now Scott was one of the popular kids taking pity on a dweeb likes Stiles.  “Is this about that guy?  The one with the shoulders, right?”

“Mystery Dad is taken,” Lydia said, flipping her hair over the shoulder, talking as though Stiles wasn’t there.  It was eerily like high school.

“Oh.  Did Mystery Dad tell him that?  Is there a ring?”

“Not in any of the pictures he’s sent me, and of course he hasn’t talked to him.”  Lydia flagged down the bartender again.

“I’m right here.  And I don’t know why neither of you are actually listening to what I’m saying.”

“Nobody that well groomed is straight,”  Lydia said sharply, turning her attention back to Scott.

“He could be bi,” Stiles hissed.

“Wait, there are pictures?”  Scott reached towards Stiles’s phone.  “That’s pretty creepy, dude, but I really want to see this guy.”

“Have at it.  Why don't we just forget that I’m actually right fucking here?”  Stiles realized he must have said the last part a little too loudly, given the look on the bartender’s face.  “This guy wants the shittiest beer you have on tap.”

Scott made some sort of choked off sound. Stiles thought it was in retaliation for the beer, but realized that Scott had swiped his phone off the bar and was staring at the screen with wide eyes.  “Wow, that guy is really good looking.”  He passed the phone back.  “Sorry Lydia, I’m going to say that Stiles is completely right in freaking out and avoiding him entirely.  This guy’s out of all of our leagues.  Except, apparently, whoever is the mother of these kids.”

Lydia sighed, the sort of exasperated tone she usually reserved for the peers in STEM who assumed she wasn’t their equal or better.  “One, he wouldn’t be out of my league if that was what I was looking for.  But honestly, he isn’t out of Stiles’s league at all.  He got me, after all.”

Stiles gaped.  He was pretty sure he was gaping, because his mouth was starting to dry up.  “In what universe did I actually get you?”

“You won me over as a friend, didn’t you?  Same thing.”  She turned her attention back to Scott.  “And that was how he got over his ridiculous crush on me, right?”

“Again, still here.”

“Fine, then take my advice and just try to make conversation with him next week.  Introduce yourself.  His daughter’s in Antoni’s class, right?”

“Right.  They’re seat partners.”

“Then just say hi, and say tell him you hear about her all the time.  He’ll probably take over the conversation until you feel comfortable enough to ramble.”

Stiles stared at her.  She had a point, but it had taken a couple years between her loudly telling the middle school cafeteria that she would never be interested in him, and them becoming friends.  “If I agree, can we start pestering Scott about how he’s overreacting about Allison’s bed rest?”

Scott sighed.  “You aren’t going to talk to him are you?”

“No, I’m not going to talk to him.  Or either of you.  Ever again.”

Lydia shook her head.  “We already agreed that I was going to come over to take Antoni shopping for winter clothes, so you’re going to have to talk to me.”

“And I’m not overreacting about Allison.  That’s our baby!”

Stiles snorted.  “And Allison’s a tough girl who got sick and lost too much weight.  They said the baby’s fine, it’s just to help her put on weight.”

Scott paused, wincing after drinking was really did look like a shitty beer.  “So you’re taking Alli’s side now?”

“Just listen to how she’s doing, and trust your doctors.  I swear, she’s not gonna break.”

Scott rubbed his temples.  “I don’t know why I’m friends with you guys.”

Lydia looked from one man to the other and finally sighed.  “I’m letting you off the hook, Stiles.  Only because we need to keep Allison from killing this guy.”

“Knew it,” Stiles said triumphantly, trying not to enjoy the continued look of disgust as Scott drank the rest of his beer.

 

***

 

Monday morning came much too quickly, but Stiles was prepared.  He’d spent most of the morning reminding himself of Lydia’s advice.

In order to move on, he’d get to know UAD.  And with any luck, he’d be a complete asshole and that would make it so much simpler.

“Dad,” Antoni shouted, eyes locked on the time on the microwave.  “We’re late!”

“I swear, bud, we aren’t.”

“This is the time that we usually pull out of the driveway.  So yes, Dad.  We **are** late.”

Stiles wanted to point out that they’d still get there at least five minutes before the early bell rang.  A full 15 minutes before school actually started, but he knew it was a losing battle.  It was a battle he’d lost at least a dozen times already this year.  “Alright.  Grab your backpack and roll out, Autobots.”

Antoni laughed, shoulders shaking.  “I’m not an Autobot, Daddy.”

“Well, neither of us are Decepticons.”

Precisely four minutes later, they were walking towards the school gate, when UAD’s ridiculous FJ Cruise pulled up to the curb with a lurch.  The back door flew open, and Leah rushed past, braids whipping around her.  “Hi Antoni and Antoni’s Dad.”

“Leah!”  Unfairly Attractive Dad was rounding the front of the car so quickly Stiles thought he was just going to leap over the hood.  “Your backpack!”

“Oh!”  She skidded to a stop.  “I didn’t want to be late, Dad.”

“We aren’t late,” he said, in a tone that Stiles recognized.  He used it himself when Antoni had been insisting they’d be late just because they left the house a minute later than usual, even though they were always milling around until the first bell.  “The bell didn’t ring yet, did it?”  

It took a moment to register that was directed at him.  Stiles shook his head.  “By my watch, there’s still a few minutes before the first bell.”

“See?”  UAD tossed the backpack to Leah, eyebrows raised.

“Sorry.”  She looked a little embarrassed as she put it on.

“I do it to my dad all the time,” Antoni said in what Stiles guessed was supposed to be a whisper.  But it was still ridiculously loud.

“This morning,” Stiles admitted.  He was more than a little pleased that made UAD chuckle.  “I think Mrs. D scared their entire table from being tardy.  She’s amazing that way.”

“She is a good teacher.  Do you volunteer during the day?”

Stiles shook his head.  “Last year, I did.  But I have a friend whose daughter had her last year.  And since I work from home, I picked her up last year, so I already knew her pretty well.”

“But not this year?”

“They moved across town, so she’s at a different school.”  Stiles took a deep breath.  “Stiles Stilinski.  I hear about Leah all the time.”  He held out his hand.

The bell rang, stopping both of them.  UAD paused, shooing Leah away.   “See you after school!”

She grinned.  “Bye!”  Leah grabbed Antoni’s hand.  “Come on, before we’re late.”

Stiles watched them walk through the school gates, only to see UAD starting to turn back towards his car.  _Oh._   It was hard not to feel like an idiot, clearly he’d only been talking because the kids had been there.

“Sorry.”  UAD paused, hand out.  “It’s Pavlovian.  I hear the bell and think I need to get on the road.  I’m.  Derek Hale.”

Stiles smiled.  “Nice to finally get a name to put with the face.”  If things had been different, this is where he would have been expected to ask him for coffee, or try to put a feeler.  But things were what they were.  “I should probably go, work.”  He waved his phone, which kept pinging alerts.  Probably emails.

Derek nodded.  “I have a client waiting for me, too.  Leah said you work with computers?”

“I’m a graphic designer.  Lets me usually set my own hours,  but I have a woman with a site redesign who has the most specific idea in her head, but hasn’t figured out how to tell me.  Only how to tell me I don’t understand what she wants.”  He stopped himself before starting the story.  He’d told everyone he knew, and they’d all ended up looking like they wanted to run away.  “You?”

“I’m a personal trainer.”

“Oh.”  It made perfect sense, with his stupid muscles and easy smile.  “I guess I should-“

The actual bell blared, interrupting them.  Stiles wasn’t entirely sure how ten minutes had passed, but Derek smiled, a small, sort of private thing that wasn’t like anything Stiles had seen directed at his kids.  He hated that he’d apparently catalogued them.  “See you this afternoon?”

“Yeah.”  Stiles stood there for a moment, staring down at his phone.  Friends.  Friends.  He could do this.

 

***

 

That afternoon, Derek had the youngest sitting on his lap, but scooted from the center of the bench he’d been on to make room for Stiles.  “Good day?”

Stiles nodded, sitting down.  “Got a client to finally tell me what shade of blue she wanted on her site.”

Derek nodded.  “I take it that’s good?”

“Oh, we’ve been going back and forth over what she meant by blue for the last couple weeks.  A friend suggested I send her to Home Depot, and instantly solved my problem.  Your day alright?”

Derek nodded again, ignoring the two hands that were currently gripping his beard to a degree that seemed painful.  “This guy actually took a nap.  A lot of times when I get back from the gym, he’s too keyed up to sleep.”

“Ant went through a long period of time where he wouldn’t nap if I was gone.  Then he discovered the world is awesome, and just stopped.  But he slept a long time overnight.”  Stiles paused, shaking his head.  “Not that I think that’ll happen.  Naps are good, kiddo.”

“Grr,” the baby said to Stiles, sparse eyebrows furrowed in serious look for someone his age.  “Grr.”

“Ben. Be nice, I’m not ignoring you.”  Derek growled playfully at the child, and Stiles started to feel like he was torpedoing his own quest to get over the man.  Because this was about a dozen times worse.

“If I’m bothering him, I can just go over there and surf my phone like I usually do.”

Derek shook his head, looking down.  “Ben’s gotta accept that he isn’t the center of attention.  It’s fine.”

“So where was this guy this morning?”

“My sister watches him when I need to work.  It’s a trade off for the afternoons I take hers.”

Stiles thought a moment about the other two kids he’d see off and on with Derek, climbing all over him like a jungle gym.  A jungle gym that could carry three children under the age of 5.  “Ah, I just thought you had a bunch of kids stashed away at a preschool somewhere.”

Derek laughed, making a face that set Ben laughing.  “You’re close.  I have a big family, we help each other out.”

“Must be nice.  Ant and I are both only children.  I mean, I’ve got friends that are like family.  But it isn’t the same, I’m guessing.”

“What’s that like?”  Derek shifted his son in his lap.  “I’d imagine you actually get to have some space.”

“Yeah.  I mean, I never had to worry about fighting someone over toys.  Quiet isn’t that fun.”

Ben babbled, something that was probably supposed to be English.

“How old is he?”

“A little over a year.”  Derek bounced his son.  “He can talk, he just won’t.  I have a long list of words he’s said, but if we aren’t at home, he clams up.”

“Michigan J. Frog.”

Derek nodded, looking down at his son.  “Exactly.”  He glanced over at Stiles’s phone  “Are you going to answer that?”

Stiles looked down, wondering how he handed noticed the flurry of incoming messages he’d received.  “Oh, it’s a bunch of emails.”  He shrugged.  “I’m off the clock until Antoni finishes his homework.”

“I just assumed, you’re always on your phone.”

“Gotta keep up with Neko Atsume.  Japanese cats can’t feed themselves.”

Derek laughed.  "My sister loves that game, even though she always winds up clicking on the wrong button."  

So, Derek wasn't an asshole. But whatever this was, this was something Stiles could do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like my fic? I'm whitneydrake on Wattpad, [whitneyd](http://twitter.com/whitneyd) on Twitter and [wingedkiare](http://wingedkiare.tumblr.com/) on Tumblr.
> 
> Also, comments would be amazing - this one is so dear to me, I'd love to hear your thoughts
> 
> **
> 
> If you don't play Neko Atsume, you should. Japanese cats are the cutest.
> 
> (And trust me, this has a Sterek endgame)


	4. Out of the Frying Pan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I could apologize for how long this chapter took to get up, but instead I'll reassure you that I have an outline and am determined to finish this one.
> 
> All the love for accidentallyshipping who made sure I didn't make too many mistakes. (Well, she caught the big ones)

“So what happened with that guy?” Allison’s voice sounded tinny through the headset. “At the school.”

Allison had been on bed rest for three weeks, and it’d taken an embarrassingly long time for both of them to realize that Stiles could carve out an hour a day to play online with her. Stiles’s stress level had dropped, and Allison had an outlet for all her frustration.

“Don’t you and Scott talk about anything?”

She laughed as her character strafed across the screen, shooting their opponents using her bow and arrow while Stiles blasted them with magic. “Of course. But all he said was that Lydia told you to talk to him. And you stopped sending me pictures of his ass.”

Stiles cringed, still embarrassed by the folder on his phone called **I am a terrible human being**. “I did talk to him, and Derek and I are friends now.”

Allison snorted. “Don’t joke. Then I’ll laugh and then that’ll make me have to get up to pee. Do you know how hard it is to get up from our couch when you’re this pregnant?”

The match ended, screen showing their easy victory. “Lydia hated sitting on your couch when she was in her third trimester, I bet it’s even worse now.”

“It is. I have to roll sideways to get up.” She hummed softly, the way she always did when she was trying to figure out how to tackle a subject. The week she’d proposed to Scott had been filled with humming. Stiles wasn’t sure how Scott hadn’t figured out something was up. “You’re kidding about the guy, right?”

“I’m not joking. Look, Lydia suggested I get to know him in order to get over him. It’s nice to have another dad to talk to, and as a bonus, the creepy moms stopped hitting on Derek.”

“You were just as creepy as they were. Pictures. Of. His. Ass.”

Stiles thought about objecting. As creepy as he’d been, he’d been silently creepy. Those women were constantly touching and practically rubbing themselves all over Derek. “Fine. I was creepy too. But it turns out he’s a really nice guy and since I guess Scott didn’t tell you… he has a girlfriend. This tall, willowy brunette. Plus, it’s not like there’s any indication that he even likes guys.”

She sighed. “But you’re okay? I mean, he’s the first guy you’ve talked about since… you know.”

“You can say Danny’s name. He isn’t Beetlejuice, it won’t summon him.” He started to skim through the teams still looking to match up, wondering if everyone had been just as cautious all this time. “I’m sorry, Alli, I didn’t realize you were out of the loop. I thought you were being the one person who wasn’t on my case about dating.”

Allison hummed again. “Well, I can be that now. You’re the one person who isn’t hovering or asking me constantly how I am.”

“Do I need to talk to Scott again?”

“Please. He’s lost his mind. He put table bumpers, like you get for babies, on the edge of the kitchen counter.”

“Because you’re going to have an enormous baby?”

Allison laughed, it was a sharp and harsh sound through the headset. “No. He’s worried I’m going to hit my belly on something.”

“Well, you’re still the toughest woman I know. But please don’t tell Lydia I said that.”

“Agreed. She’d rip out your spleen with her bare hands. Oh, look. That orc and troll are completely wearing the wrong gear for this field. Wanna teach them a lesson?”

***

Derek was walking ahead, practically bent sideways to help let Ben take slow cautious steps towards the school. Stiles felt the itch to grab his cellphone and document what was essentially domestic porn, but decided he should jog to catch up. “I know you’d told me he was moving around, but I don’t think I’ve ever really seen Ben in action.” Stiles stopped, hand on his side.

Derek glanced up, twisting to adjust for Ben wobbling in his stupidly adorable baby converse. “It’s too crowded in front of the school, but we’re early enough that I thought I’d give him the chance. Leah won’t slow down long enough to let him walk.”

“She’s that eager to get home?”

“I wish. I have a client after school now, so we’re going to the gym. We have a new receptionist, and Leah’s half in love with her. She says she’s better at homework than I am.” Derek stopped to stand behind Ben who’d been wiggling, hands on his son’s shoulders. Out of self preservation, Stiles moved so that he was next to them, not behind Derek.

Stiles forced a smirk onto his face, after realizing he was still gawking. Openly. Friends did not stare. Nope. “Well, that’s harsh. If it’s any consolation, Antoni would rather do homework with my dad or Lydia over me. Lydia’s tough, but makes him feel like a genius, and my dad gives him cookies.”

Derek’s head snapped up. “Lydia?”

“Oh, I don’t think I’ve mentioned her. She’s Ant’s birth mother, a really good friend of mine. I wanted a kid, but I wasn’t prepared for how hard it is for a single guy to adopt, or how expensive surrogates can be.” He smiled, stepping to the side to let a mom with a stroller pass them on the sidewalk. “I’m pretty sure Antoni got her IQ, which made Lydia happy. She got to pass on her genes without actually being a mom.”

“She doesn’t plan on having kids?”

“Not really. She didn’t particularly enjoy being pregnant, and back in kindergarten when she was supposed to draw her future family, she drew a dog.” Stiles smiled at the memory, tiny little Lydia’s hair pulled back in an elaborate braid, wearing a perfectly ironed dress. “According to her, kids are only fun if you can hand them off to someone else when they cry.” The reality was that Lydia was terrified, even as a kid, of being her parents. Despite the fact that even as ‘Aunt Lydia’ she was a much better parent than they’d ever been.

Derek snorted, looking down at his son. “She sounds like my sister, Cora.”

“Oh. How did I not realize you were related to Cora?” Stiles winces, realizing how it sounds. “Sorry, but she scared the hell out of everyone in my grade.”

“She’s still terrifying.” Derek leaned, bumping Stiles’s shoulder with his own. “You should come to the gym today, say hi.”

“You’re just trying to convince me to sign up. I see how it is. Gotta get a commission from your friends.”

“Just helping you out,” Derek said, face suddenly very serious. He almost looked like a different person without the smirk. “I mean, if you get winded after jogging 15 feet.”

Stiles groaned. “I didn’t think you saw that, and I swear. I’m not in that bad of shape, I’m just not good at… like I could keep up with you.“

Derek’s lip quirked up at the ramble, his shoulders shaking from trying to keep in a laugh. “I wouldn’t be that cruel, sticking you with me. Nah, Laura’s good with beginners.” He scooped Ben from the ground, settling him on top of his shoulders. “She has a class with senior citizens tonight. You’d fit right in.”

Stiles laughed, shaking his head. “Why do I- why am I friends with people who hate me?”

“Nobody hates you, Stiles.” Derek smirked again, and Stiles wasn’t so far in denial that he couldn’t admit the smirk did things for him. “But really, you should come by. Antoni and Leah could do homework together, and you could talk to some adults.”

“Just so long as you don’t think Comic Sans is a good font.”

“Mrs. Donovan again?”

“At this point, I wouldn’t be surprised if this turned out to be the Winchester House of websites.”

Derek glanced over, pale eyes bright. “You could always drop her as a client.”

Stiles shook his head. Mrs. Donovan wasn’t trying to get him to do the extra work for free. So long as he she kept sending him checks, she might end up paying for Antoni’s college fund. “Then what would you and I talk about?”

“How terrifyingly out of shape you are considering you’re lean?”

The bell rang, and Stiles let his shoulders drop. “Touché.”

*~*~*

Stiles stared at the address on his phone, not entirely sure that he was in the right place. Derek hadn’t given him the name of the gym, just the address. And Triskele didn’t exactly look like a gym. The building was made of sharp modern lines, with tinted windows and the name over the door in slick blue type. Stiles had driven past it at least a dozen times since and had no idea it was a gym, much less Derek’s.

“Dad,” Antoni wiggled in the back seat. “Turn off the engine so I can unbuckle.”

“I’m not sure if this is the right place.”

“Duh. Leah’s at the door.”

Stiles looked up, and there was Leah, nose smashed against the glass. Still wearing her backpack, even. “Oh.”

Inside, the gym was pretty spacious, but not what Stiles had thought. There was a lobby with a reception desk, and even with the clean architecture, it seemed much more personal than the chain gyms he’d checked out.

“Antoni!” Leah squeezed Ant tightly. “Miss Kira, this is Antoni and his dad. I’m going to take them to Daddy’s office.”

The receptionist, a slim Asian woman with her hair pulled back in a low ponytail, just smiled. “Alright, Leah.”

“You can still help me with my homework even though Antoni’s here. I told him you were the-“ Leah continued to compliment Kira’s homework skills, as she dragged both of them towards the door that simply said STAFF. Stiles was impressed that Derek hadn’t undersold the girl’s favoritism.

Derek’s office was not entirely what Stiles expected. There was a soft couch that was obviously well loved, a metal desk that looked like it came from a sale at the school district, and a large play area set up for Ben. Okay, he’d expected that.

He didn’t expect the girlfriend to be sitting on the couch, wearing a polo-shirt with Triskele’s logo, tablet in her lap. She jumped up, bright smile on her lips. “Oh, Stiles, right?”

Stiles waved, letting Leah drag Antoni back out the door, presumably back to the receptionist. “That’s me.”

“We haven’t actually met, though I’ve seen you at the school. I’m Laura.” She held out her hand expectantly, and Stiles couldn’t even hate how nice she actually seemed.

“Where’s Derek?”

“Off with a client, working weights. He told me you’d be coming, said I should give you the tour.”

“Is Cora here?”

“Not yet.” She paused, looking at him. “Stilinski. The Sheriff’s son. I completely forgot you were in her grade. Tell me, was my little sister as much of a shit to people at school as she was to us?”

Sister. Stiles blinked, trying to process that. Laura was Cora’s sister. So she was Derek’s sister. He found himself torn between wanting to dance because Derek wasn’t dating her, and wanting to hide because he’d assumed she was Derek’s girlfriend. Laura waited expectantly, and Stiles backtracked to figure out what he’d missed. “Oh, Cora? Absolutely terrifying. I think there was a rumor for awhile she’d castrated someone.”

“At least she was consistent. So I’ve heard your name a lot, but nothing about you. I wonder why.” Laura’s eyebrows rose, and Stiles chided himself for not seeing the family resemblance. She didn’t have the same light eyes, but he’d seen that exact facial expression on Derek before.

“Well, we really only see each other a half an hour a day. Maybe text now and then.” He shrugged. “You can’t exactly spill your secrets when there’s a cluster of moms eavesdropping.”

“I should thank you for helping keep them at bay. I swear, since Jennifer, women circle him like sharks.” Her phone beeped, and Laura’s smile vanished as she looked at it. “Can you sit in here for a minute with Ben? I’ll send Cora in for him, but I guess our kettle bells finally came in and Kira doesn’t know what to do with them.”

Stiles looked at Ben, who was currently walking laps around the fence of the play yard, stuffed animal in his hand. “Pretty sure we’ll be fine. Ben and I are old friends.”

Laura’s face lit up as she stepped towards the door. “You are an absolute sweetheart. Promise, I’ll get you the tour in a sec. We can end it by snooping on my baby brother.”

Alone. Well, sort of. Stiles sat down on the couch, just on the other side of Ben, who was busy looking up at him with those wide Hale eyes. “Hey bud, just you and me. Who do you have there?”

Ben held up the pink bunny that looked like it needed washing. “Fluf.”

“Fluff? Is that it’s name?”

Ben nodded. “Mine.”

Stiles smiled, remembering when Ant had been that size, he’d been constantly babbling. “He’s very nice, Ben. Very cool.”

The baby seemed proud of that, and promptly went back to walking laps around the playpen, dragging Fluff behind him.

“So Ben talks to you?” Stiles didn’t even need to look up to know that Cora had walked in. She sounded exactly the same as she had in high school, voice tight and sharp.

“He’s warmed up,” he said. “Hey Cora.”

She sat next to him on the couch. “So my brother’s a really private guy. I don’t know what he’s told you.” It didn’t matter that she was much shorter than him, she stared at him with an intensity that rivaled Derek’s. But unlike Derek’s glare, which generally was to keep people at a distance, Cora’s felt like she was cornering him.

“He is private. So I don’t feel comfortable talking about him with you.” Stiles kept his eyes on Ben, rather than look at Cora.

“Well, I just wanted to make sure you understood one thing. The few women he’s let into his life hurt him really bad.” It was impossible to miss the way she’d stressed women. “Jennifer. Kate. Even Paige.”

While he’d never heard of the last two, Jennifer wasn’t a new name. 

  


_So,” Stiles said as he handed Derek a bottle of water. “I couldn’t help but notice we’re both on the single dad squad. Ant said something about Leah not having a mom, like him.” It wasn’t the best way to ask what the situation was, but it’d been true. Antoni had said that he wasn’t the only person in class with only a dad._

_“No, their mother died last year.” Derek glanced around, his voice lowered. “Jen and I. We’d separated, then found out she was pregnant. Just couldn’t make it work. She got in a car accident when Ben was about six months old, and didn’t make it.”_

_Stiles wouldn’t have said he was sorry, even if Jennifer had been the love of Derek’s life. That sounded hollow when anyone still said it to him about his mother. “Leah seems pretty well adjusted, considering.”_

_“My family makes sure she isn’t lacking women in her life. I don’t want it to come off as callous, but Jennifer worked constantly.”_

_“It’s why you were separated?”_

_Derek nodded. “We had different priorities. For me, it’ll always be family first.”_

  


Stiles glanced at Cora, wondering why she was so intent on rattling him. “He and I are friends. I don’t hurt my friends.”

“Right. So this isn’t a Lydia thing?”

“Lydia and I are friends, too. And I don’t know what you remember, but she’s the one who hurt me way back when.”

Cora snorted. “Whatever. Just don’t think you can ten year plan your way into his pants. You might bat for both teams, but Derek doesn’t.” While she tried to sound like it was a joke, it was hard to ignore the bite to her voice.

Stiles turned to look at her, throat tight. “Like I said. We’re friends. Our kids are friends.”

Smirk on her lips, Cora hopped up from the couch. “Just making sure you know your place, Stilinski.”

The door opened, and Laura walked back in. “Alright, Stiles. Let’s go check on the kids and I’ll show you around.” She glanced at Cora, who was climbing into the play yard, a wide smile on her lips. “You’ve got Ben?”

“Always have time for my favorite guy.” She beamed down at Ben, then glared at Stiles. Laura didn’t seem to notice, continuing to smile as she scrolled through the tablet in her hand.

Stiles knew that Cora was right. Derek hadn’t ever given any indication that he was interested in Stiles as anything other than a friend. They’d mostly talked about kids, and the struggles of being a single parent. Including the frustration of everyone in their lives insisting they needed to be set up. He forced a smile onto his face, as he walked out of the office. “Can’t wait to see it.”

Laura looked over. “Please tell me Cora wasn’t interrogating you about your diet.”

“No. Why would she?”

“She’s a nutritionist. Helps people set up diets to help them with their goals, but mostly loves to tell people to lay off the things they love.” She laughed, and Stiles couldn’t but feel how true that was about Cora. Only he didn’t think he loved Derek. But she’d done a great job warning him off. “So you already met Kira.”

Kira was still at her desk, two little heads beside her, bowed down towards their paper. She smiled and waved. “Hi!”

Antoni looked up. “Dad. Kira is super smart.”

“I’m finishing up a degree in education,” she said, cheerfully. “So this is sort of my thing.”

“We’re grateful she didn’t decide to substitute teach,” Laura said, leaning in towards Stiles.

“He isn’t a handful?” Stiles said, as he glanced down at Antoni’s math worksheet.

“Oh, no. Plus, people are so much nicer when they see kids in here. Nobody complains about someone hogging a machine in front of kids.” She winked and turned back towards Leah.

“Now do you really want a tour, or do you just want to drive my brother up the wall?” Laura grinned.

“Is there a song you can put on that he really hates?”

“I think we have my Spice Girls CD. He likes to pretend like he doesn’t know the entire thing.” Laura put one arm around Stiles, pulling him close. “I’m glad he has a friend like you.” 

Stiles couldn’t decide whether or not she put extra emphasis on friend. But he heard it all the same.

*~*~*

The next afternoon Laura was there, hands deep in the pockets of her windbreaker. It was obvious she’d just come from the gym, she was still wearing the polo shirt with the logo. “Stiles!”

He smiled, a little half heartedly. “No Derek today?”

She grinned, fishing out her phone. “He and Ben fell asleep on the couch in the office and I just couldn’t bear to wake either of them up.” She practically shoved it in his face, and Stiles could feel his heart breaking. Because it was perfect and sweet, and something he’d never get. Derek looked younger when he was asleep, just as soft and peaceful as Stiles had thought in idle daydreams. Ben had scooted himself so that his head was buried under her father’s chin, and two little hands were buried in Derek’s beard.

It was the sort of thing he wanted to see regularly, he realized. “That’s so…”

“I know. Sweetest thing. Oh, did you want to bring Antoni to the gym today? He could officially join the homework brigade.”

Stiles shook his head. “I’m sure he’d love it, but I’m taking him over to my dad’s today.”

Laura looked at him curiously, one eyebrow slightly quirked. “Hot date?”

“No. I have a class I teach at the community center tonight.”

She smiled, a wide and predatory thing as she leaned towards him. “Please tell me Derek knows.”

“It hasn’t come up?” Stiles wasn’t sure why that was a question, but it was. He also wasn’t sure why Laura seemed to think Derek would get a kick out of it. “It’s mostly senior citizens this time around. If you give me flyers or a schedule, I can set them out at my class next week.”

“Oh! That’d be fantastic.” Laura swiped her phone screen open, pulling up her calendar to make a note. “Do you do this the whole year round? Because I have some regulars who would love that kind of a class.”

“Only if they want to learn web design. I get a lot of seniors who think it’s just a regular computer class, and for whatever reason, the city hasn’t added one of those. I keep asking them to. But I don’t boot the tech illiterate from my class, which means I end up teaching it all.”

“Adorable.” Laura opened her mouth to say something else, but the bell drowned her out, and Stiles took the opportunity to turn away and walk towards where the gaggle of moms were standing.

He pulled out his phone, opening a new message to Lydia. _Being his friend isn’t helping. He’s perfect, but straight._

_Are you sure he’s straight?_

_His sisters decided to scare me away from him by pointing out the long line of bad relationships with women he’s had. Women. No mention of a dude in there. Just fix me up with someone._

_We’re talking after your class tonight. Coffee?_

_Fine. Jumpin’ Java at 9._


	5. It Gets Weird

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Stiles thinks he knows what's going on, Derek makes plans - and obviously, nobody knows what's going on.

While most of the senior citizens were happily creating websites on Blogspot that looked like they were designed in the late 1990’s (Stiles still had no idea where they found animated gifs like that anymore or how he could convince them to stop using tables for everything), Mr. Cole had managed to lock up his computer, but kept hitting keys. So the computer just kept making noises. Doink. Doink.  _ Doink _ .

If he had a time machine, he’d stop himself from setting the macs to the old mac alert sound. Even if he couldn’t hear when the machines made the Funk sound (which actually sounded more like a Thunk), it wouldn’t be a sound he’d hear in his nightmares. “Mr. Cole, I’m almost finished with helping her, so if you could just keep your hands in your lap-“

“I’m 80 years old, son. Don’t talk to me like I’m a child.”

Stiles’s head whipped up, as he turned to look at the man who just seemed to get angrier week after week, yet refused to leave. “Mr. Cole, I have a 7 year old who knows how to wait for me to help with his computer problems. And pushing the same key again and again isn’t going to help.”

The room fell silent, except for some exceptionally loud keyboards and a few mouse clicks.

“There, Ms Raymond. You were accidentally picking the wrong type of widget, so it was trying to strip the code out of your Instagram badge. Now everyone can see the latest pictures of your grandchildren.” Stiles took a deep breath. “Now, Mr. Cole, I hope you saved whatever you were working on.”

“Why?” The man grumbled.

“Your computer is frozen, so I’m going to have to reboot the system.” Stiles shrugged as he leaned over the man’s shoulder. “At some point, if you keep clicking and typing things, it just overloads the computer.”

“Let me guess; your son doesn’t do that.”

 “No, he does it all the time. But he’s learned that when it starts doing strange things, it’s time to wait for me to fix it. What were you doing?”

“It wasn’t loading.”

“Well, now you know that clicking it a dozen times isn’t didn’t make it happen any faster.” Stiles shook his head, as he scanned the frozen screen for clues. “And I can see your problem. Your computer wasn’t connecting to the internet. So let’s fix that as soon as this reboots.”

 

**

 

Lydia drummed her nails against the large mug of coffee. “We’ve been sitting here in silence for ten minutes.”

Stiles sighed, staring down at his hot chocolate. “He just kept clicking even after his computer had locked up.”

“I don’t care about your class. Derek.”

“Fine. I went to the gym that he and his sisters run. You were right, Laura isn’t his girlfriend, she’s his sister. But before you celebrate, Cora glared me into submission while telling me she wasn’t going to let me try to pull a ten year plan on him and reminded me that he’s straight. And Laura kept calling me Derek’s friend.”

“But you are his friend.” She set down the cup a little harder than was necessary, reaching for the muffin between them. “And Cora has always been protective. Do you remember what happened when she found out about Isaac?”

Of course Stiles remembered. Cora had realized that Isaac was being abused by his father and showed up at the Lahey house, demanding Isaac come home with her, and shouted at Mr. Lahey until one of the neighbors called the cops.

“But Laura kept emphasizing it. Like she knew she had to remind me I didn’t have a shot, that I’m just a friend, while showing me pictures of Derek and Ben that just make me want what I can’t have. So I need to get over him.” He sighed, chest tight remembering how adorable they’d looked napping together. “Do you know anyone?”

“For you to date as a throwaway?” Lydia set down the cup. “I can think of a few people patient enough to put with you. Are we sticking to your type?”

“I do not have a type. And I’m not looking for a throwaway.”

“Right. Because there aren’t any similarities between Danny and  Derek.”

Okay. Maybe he had a bit of a type. “Maybe we should go in a different direction. Like, men who are sexually attracted to men and aren’t dicks.”

“You just described Danny.”

Danny was a dick, but not in an offensive way. He was nice, but had no patience for bullshit. But Derek was a bit of a dick, and the fact that he actually felt comfortable enough to tease Stiles had been a big part of the attraction to him. “No, I was the dick who was too afraid to say that ‘oh, I have a kid.’” He started to spin his cup around. “But I really don’t want a guy who’s a dick.”

Lydia shook her head. “No, what I mean is that you liked Danny because he was so much nicer than you, and it would never have worked long term. You don’t like nice people.”

“Scott’s nice.”

“He put sugar in Jackson’s gas tank when Jackson dumped me right before Winter Formal, and kissed me even though he knew you were still hung up on me.”

“Allison.”

“I might not have known her as long as I’ve known you, but she isn’t going to qualify for sainthood.” Lydia glanced down at her nails. “But if you’re determined to find a nice guy for whatever brief period of time it takes for you to move on, I know a guy. He’s blond with a good sense of humor. And he likes kids.”

“How do you know him?” He wanted to ask how she knew all that, but it was Lydia. She seemed to just know things, or have a way of making people spill their secrets, rather than their life story.

“He runs the daycare at the University,” Lydia hand waved that, as though it wasn’t something she needed to explain, frowning when it was clear it wasn’t enough. “When our team was working on STEM presentations for schools, we practiced at the childcare center for the programs geared towards little kids.”

“That’s sort of adorable, Lyds.”

Lydia bristled at the nickname. “His name is Brian, he has a degree in child development. Considering the plethora of comic book shirts he wore when I saw him, you’ll have plenty in common. And you can be upfront about Antoni.”

“Thanks.”

“I still think you need to actually talk to Derek.” Lydia started to sweep up crumbs off the table, a clear sign she decided the conversation was nearing its end. Stiles grimaced, and she shook her head. “You’re a grown man, Stiles. You can’t keep avoiding difficult conversations. You’ll answer every uncomfortable thing that Antoni asks, but you’re afraid to do it yourself.”

“I told  _ you _ everything.”

“Your declaration of love did go into excruciating detail. However, that was the last time you went out on a limb like that, and you weren’t even 13. And you were misreading your own feelings because you didn’t know it was okay to like boys.” She swept the crumbs into her empty cup. “But, as you’re determined to be a chicken, I’ll talk to Brian tomorrow and text his number when he says yes.”

“If he says yes.”

Lydia glared at him, in a way that he was fairly certain Antoni inherited from her. “When.”

 

***

 

The next afternoon, Stiles found himself at his old spot against the fence, clearing out his inbox. Derek wasn’t there yet, and if Laura was handling the pickup, he didn’t want to spend all that time next to her on the bench. He wasn’t in the mood for small talk, much less have a determined sister show him proof that the only place in Derek’s life was platonic. Though, thankfully, Laura did it in a much nicer fashion than Cora.

**Hi Stiles! It’s Brian, I hope that Lydia mentioned who I was, otherwise this is awkward.**

Stiles laughed, putting his phone in his pocket. He’d respond after Antoni got out of class. He didn’t want to seem too eager. Or say something stupid. But if he waited too long, Brian might think he wasn’t interested. Stiles exhaled, pulling his phone back out of his pocket.

**_She did! I’m glad to hear from you. I’m picking my son up from school, so if I don’t respond back right away, it isn’t personal._ ** Stiles felt proud of that response. Polite and upfront about Ant. Already a better start than with anyone else.

“Stiles?” Derek was suddenly in front of him, child-less for once.

“Oh. Hey, Derek.” He shoved his phone in his pocket. “No Ben today?”

Derek shook his head, the smile suddenly becoming a little tighter. Stiles wasn’t sure if that was because of him or the question itself. “He’s at the park with his Nana.” The way Derek said Nana sounded as though he was about to have his teeth pulled without anything to numb it.

Still. Stiles couldn’t help be a little glad, given that he knew Derek didn’t have much family. “I’m glad that the kids have grandparents to spoil them. If she’s that kind. Sometimes I feel like Antoni misses out, since it’s just me and my dad.”

“Jen’s mom is great with the kids. She’s here early for a week since she’s going on a cruise for Christmas.” He cringed. “Single’s cruise.” Derek managed to turn a simple phrase into a curse.

“Oh. I take it she’s a sharer?”

“In great detail.” Derek took a deep breath, grimace vanishing. “Did you want to come by the gym today?”

“I can’t.” Stiles looked down at at his pocket, fingers closing around his phone. “But I know Antoni had a great time. He’s probably going to be upset that I have to work.”

“But did you?” Derek glanced away to look at the clock that hung outside the school office, jaw stupidly sharp and perfect. “Have a good time, I mean.”

“You have a great gym. I can see why you’re so proud of it.” Stiles knew it wasn’t really the correct answer to the question, but there wasn’t any polite way to tell a guy his sisters were evil. And the gym  _ was  _ great.

The other man smiled, glancing down at his shoes for a moment. “Since Leah’s Nana’s here this week, I actually have some free time. Maybe we could hang out? There’s the sports bar on 8 th , Overtime. They usually have NBA playing this time of year. Instead of football, anyways.”

That sounded nice, and definitely worded as the furthest thing you could get from a date. “Beer and basketball?” 

“Are there any nights you’re free?”

“I’ll have to check, but I’m sure I could figure something out. My friends are convinced I’m turning into a hermit, so they usually agree to watch Ant.”

Derek huffed a quiet laugh. “Don’t get me started on my sisters. Even Leah’s always on my case about getting out. She said I’m just a trash can away from becoming Oscar the Grouch.”

“Painful words from a kid. Antoni just wants me to get out so that he can have dessert for dinner at my dad’s.”

“Your dad’s the Sheriff.” One eyebrow rose in disbelief.

“And I’m fairly certain that Antoni could steal a car and my dad wouldn’t arrest him for it.” Stiles laughed. “Grandkids.”

The bell rang before Derek could react, so Stiles reached out to clasp him on the shoulder. “Text me later, and we’ll figure out a time, okay?”

 

***

 

Almost three hours exactly, Derek texted Stiles in a way that was undeniably Derek. The first time he’d texted Stiles it was to say “This is Derek” Nothing else. Just that, the weirdo.

**Check when you’re free. Before an argument about font size takes up all your time** _.  _ It was the sort of thing that Stiles wished he could protest, but with some of his clients, that’s what ended up happening. Tiny issues that derailed any conversations he’d been having.

**_My friends were all too happy to steal my son for a night. I’m apparently free Friday night._ ** He wasn’t about to mention that Allison was still hinting in the group text that he should use it to figure out if Derek wanted to date him. The plan was to try to get over Derek. Not keep wondering what could be.

**And you’re gonna spend it with me instead of getting a date? I’m touched** _.  _ Stiles stared at that text for a good long while. If there had been any ambiguity before about this being a date, that definitely put an end to it. Something clever was called for.

**_Touched in the head if you think I’d go out on a date on a Friday. Typical date nights practically ensure that at least one of my friends would show up to snoop._ **

_ They’d do that? _

**_I don’t really know. I haven’t dated in four years. I’m trying to get out there again, but the flip side of having awesome friends who are there for me and my kid is that they also try to vet anyone I do meet._ **

**My sisters are the same way. I haven’t dated since Jen and I split. But before Jen, they had an opinion about everyone.**

Stiles stared at his phone, unable to shake the fury in Cora’s eyes. “Tell me about it,” he muttered. **_Friday work for you?_**

**Sure thing. Overtime at 6 so we won’t miss Golden State’s tip off?**

**_Are you actually a basketball fan?_ **

**Played in high school. These days, I just watch.**

 

***

 

Since it was an unseasonably warm December, Brian had suggested they go for the batting cages for their date. Mostly to avoid having Lydia drop in to spy on them.

Brian was nice. Good looking, with a healthy interest in comic book movies. And nice. Stiles grinned down at the ground.

“So, it quickly went from a lightsaber day to whack a mole with the pool noodles.” Brian laughed as he tried to square up for another ball, bat shaking along with his shoulders shaking as he remembered the moment. “You can’t trust Jedi, I guess.” He swung, missing the ball entirely.

“Well, not a kid with a lightsaber at least. Looking back on it, that’s the one thing that never made sense to me. Even if they were raising younglings from when they were babies, I think that any kid would be a hazard with a lightsaber. No matter how well behaved they are.” Stiles knew his smile was probably bordering on creepy, but it was hard to stop. He might not have the butterflies he had around Derek, but this was fun.

“I never really watched the Star Wars movies more than once. They were cool, but not really it for me.”

Stiles nodded, as they switched spots, trying not to think of that as a deal breaker. In the grand scheme of things, it was really nothing. “So, what’s your geek poison, then?”

Brian glanced at him, shy smile on his lips. “The X-Men. I’ve seen all the movies, again and again. And I’ve been buying some trades of the comic arcs.”

“So what’s your favorite movie from the franchise?” It was hard to top X-2, in Stiles’s mind. Days of Future Past was good, but changing it from Kitty to Logan had weakened the story, though he wasn’t sure who else they could have sent back since the timeline had changed from the comics.

“X-Men: First Class. I thought the casting was amazing.”

Stiles swung, enjoying the sound from the ball making contact with his bat. “But who would you have cast as Emma Frost?”

“January Jones was good, I thought. I’m not much of a fan of her, I’ll be honest.”

“But she didn’t seem like the White Queen! I thought that Emily Blunt would have been able to pull off Emma. Yvonne Strahovski would have been amazing, I think.”

“Who?”

Stiles stopped, stepping back to glance at Brian, and he was pretty sure his face was doing something judgmental. It was a bad habit to react like that. “Did you ever see the show Chuck? She was the main female character in it, Sarah. Really underrated actress, and would have knocked it out of the park. Nothing against January Jones, who was great in Mad Men. I think she and Singer just didn’t gel.”

Brian smiled. “I’ll have to look up the show. At least watch the pilot.”

“It’s fun.”

Soon enough they’d run through their stack of quarters. And Brian kept looking at Stiles like talking to him had been the fun part of this. Not the fact that he’d hit a good many more of the balls than Stiles had.

“Want to get something to drink? I know you’re probably eager to get back to your son.”

Stiles looked down, smiling. “Yeah. I worry a little about how much trouble he can get into, even during the week. Usually he’s with my dad for a couple hours and then he falls asleep.”

“Your dad’s the Sheriff, right?” Brian had a look that was eerily like Derek’s had been earlier in the week.

“In the house, he’s just Grandpa. And surprisingly, the threat of arrest doesn’t work on a grandkid.”

Halfway back to returning the helmets, Stiles heard a familiar voice behind him. “Stiles?” Derek was dressed to practice, baseball bat in hand, helmet tucked under his arm. “What are you-“

“Oh, hey Derek.” Stiles tipped his head up in a quick nod, aware of the fact that his entire body had suddenly tensed.

Derek seemed to mirror it as he looked between Stiles and Brian. Brian, who just smiled, not even seeming to notice any difference. “You know each other?”

Stiles nodded. “His daughter is my son’s best friend. I’m actually surprised not to see her.”

“Jen’s Mom,” Derek said, as though it was an explanation that Brian might understand. “I’m sorry, if I’m interrupting your…”

Stiles mouthed the word date, surprised to see Derek immediately snap into a wide smile that didn’t seem to fit his face at all.

“I’ll leave you to it, then. Hope nobody struck out.” Derek barked a quick laugh, putting on the helmet. “See you later.”

“Tomorrow?”

“Yeah.” Derek waved as he walked off, that smile still plastered to his face.

Brian turned, glancing up at Stiles. “That was interesting."

“Better him than Lydia,” Stiles admitted, already cringing at the thought of Lydia’s scrutinization if they’d run into her.

"No, I meant…” Brian exhaled, laughing softly. “Nevermind. Is it too soon to ask if you’d want to do this again?”

“No, it isn’t too soon. This was nice.”

Brian smiled, and it was a bright happy thing. “Good.”

 

***

 

Heading to school to pick up Antoni the next afternoon, Stiles wasn’t sure how he felt. He’d started the day off, not exactly floating on cloud nine, but definitely feeling lighter than usual. It was nice that Brian was clearly interested, and that Stiles wasn’t terrified at the mere thought of another date. He doubted it would be anything long term. A mutual love of Star Wars was a must for anyone he’d settle down with - but he doubted anyone was thinking about forever after one date.

What threw him off kilter was the brief text he’d received from Derek.  **_can’t hang out tonight. sorry_ ** . No capitalization and no elaboration as to why.

He’d been looking forward to beer and basketball. But at least it was something that could be cleared up at school pickup.

While he was busy talking with Mrs D, he spotted Leah tearing off towards a car in the pick up lane. But he couldn’t see who it was, and that wasn’t going to clear up what happened.

Antoni had no idea who was picking up Leah either. He’d been too busy discussing Pokemon with a classmate.

Antoni was busy playing Minecraft, currently shouting at the horde of zombies he’d undoubtedly spawned to fight off. Which meant that it was a good time to actually talk to Scott. They’d already texted about the night being cancelled. But… that was it.

“Hey, Dr. McCall, is this a good time?”

“I’ve got enough time to talk, if you don’t mind me expanding on some of my notes.”

“Not a problem at all.” Stiles sighed, keeping an eye on the door towards the dining room, where Ant’s computer was. “So he cancelled with a text. No explanation at all.”

“Not even a ‘work emergency’ sort of thing?”

“Yeah. And I ran into him when I was on my date with Brian, and the second he realized we were on a date, he just got weird.”

Scott huffed. “I thought you said he knew you were gay.”

“He does. He was fine until he saw me on a date.”

“Ah, the old it’s okay if you’re gay, just so long as you aren’t shoving it in my face thing?” The sound of typing stopped. “That doesn’t really sound like him, based on what you’ve said.” Stiles wondered how much he’d talked about Derek for Scott to sound so sure of that.

“No, it doesn’t. But I’m running out of explanations. I was gonna try to ask him about it at school pickup, but Leah almost just vanished. I didn’t see him at all, so maybe it was Laura who picked her up.”

“I’m sorry he cancelled, I know you were looking forward to it. Want me to pick up some beer and come over? I know it isn’t the same as going out, but we can mess around on the Xbox after Ant’s in bed.”

“Sounds good. If Alli doesn’t mind, you can crash on the couch.”

“Are you gonna make me breakfast?”

Stiles laughed. “I’d be a shitty date if I didn’t.”

Ant gasped from the other room. “Did you say a bad word?”

“Sorry, kid.” Stiles hung his head, unable to hide the smile at the horror in his son’s voice, and Scott’s hysterical laugh through the phone. “See you later, bro?”

“Yeah. I’ll even bring over some pizza.”

 

***

 

Somehow, Scott spending Friday night turned into Allison coming over and the two of them staying the entire weekend. Antoni thought it was the best thing in the world to watch the FPS tournament that Scott and Alli insisted they play using child appropriate language, and by Monday morning, Stiles felt like he was back on an even keel. His weird family was the best, really. Especially when, to avoid swearing in front of Antoni, Scott hissed “I am going to kill you, you son of a …Batman.” To Allison. Who laughed so hard, Scott actually did manage to kill her. Though it didn’t put him anywhere near her overall ranking for the weekend.

It even managed to take the sting out of not seeing Derek’s FJ Cruiser Monday morning. Or the fact that Stiles’s text from Friday that said he hoped everything was okay had gone unanswered.

But things were fine. The fact that Antoni still had plenty of stories about Leah in school at least meant it wasn’t an emergency. Which was good.

Well, that’s what Stiles kept telling himself. Every day until it had been an entire week of silence. He had family who loved him, and went out on another nice date with Brian. So if a friend wanted to cut ties like that…well, it shouldn’t hurt this much.

It just meant he’d been wrong about Derek. It also meant that Allison clearly owed him $20, because Derek Hale was definitely not interested in dating him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do have the rest of the story outlined - which may end up being 7 chapters in total (plus an epilogue), but probably 6 with the epilogue. I've cleared time to be able to finish this, because I do really love this story and won't leave you hanging.
> 
> Comments are love - and if you want to join my madness, I'm [Wingedkiare](http://wingedkiare.tumblr.com) over on Tumblr. Though I admit, it's mostly Check Please!, Star Wars, and squeeing over Tyler Hoechlin.


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